This panel will explore the perspective on a director's relationship with a composer/songwriter and feature six accomplished directors, whose films span a wide range of genres — features, shorts, documentaries; moderated by film producer Inbal-Rotem Sagiv. A few brief selections will be screened and discussed to provide a conversation about how these directors decided what music would work best for their films. The panel will be followed by an audience Q&A.

Justine Raczkiewicz is a film producer and director living in Los Angeles, California. Throughout her career she has worked on a number of award-winning films which have screened in the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival, among others, and has worked with companies such as The Weinstein Company, Miramax, Mandalay, Red Granite Pictures and FOX International. Under her own production company, Building J, she produced and directed her debut film, Waste, currently on the festival circuit. Justine graduated Magna Cum Laude from Barnard College, Columbia University, and is originally from Warsaw, Poland.

Rainy Kerwin is the award-winning writer-director-producer of the female buddy-comedy, The Wedding Invitation. She also plays the lead role in the film, which has racked up six wins and two nominations and is being distributed through Freestyle Releasing on June 6th. Rainy is an actor's director and loves working with talent. As an acting teacher, she’s worked with more than 1000 actors. She is the founder of It’s Raining Films and BuyWomen.com -- a site that drives audiences to films by women. Her next feature film, Dead Between LA & Vegas, a dark comedy, will begin shooting in early 2018.

Emily Robinson's directorial debut is Virgin Territory. She is 18 years old and has been acting for the majority of her life. She filmed three movies this past year: Behold My Heart with Marisa Tomei, directed by Joshua Leonard; Once Upon a Time in Venice with Bruce Willis, directed by Mark and Robb Cullen; and Unicorn Store, Brie Larson's directorial debut. Emily plays Young Rose and Young Ali in Seasons 1 through 4 of Amazon's Transparent. Emily is represented by UTA.

Born in Berlin and raised in Mallorca, Spain, Sandra Seeling Lipski is the founder and director of the Evolution! Mallorca International Film Festival (EMIFF), located in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. She is an accomplished actress with notable credits such as CSI NY, Borat and Jane the Virgin. Sandra splits her time between Mallorca and Los Angeles. After having produced, directed and acted in several award-winning short films, Sandra is currently preparing the sixth edition of EMIFF and in development with her first feature film as a producer and actress. She holds an AA in dramatic arts from the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York City, and graduated from the Los Angeles Film School with a degree in Filmmaking.

Award-winning filmmaker, writer/director Arun Virbegan her love affair with the narrative in New York where she produced an ultra-low budget feature, The Bulls' Night Out. Her screenplay The Last Weekend earned her the prestigious Directing Workshop for Women Award sponsored by the American Film Institute and Gale Anne Hurd, and was Arun’s first short film, which starred Suzzanne Douglas (Parenthood). The Last Weekend won “Best Short” at the Pan African Film Festival. Arun has written /directed several shorts. Among them, a drama titled Reset centers on addiction and recovery through the eyes of a mixed-race teen. Reset won Programmers Award at the 2016 Pan African Film Festival, and was nominated by The Africa Academy Movie Awards, Nigeria. In 2016, Arun’s feature script Suburban Turban was voted Finalist by The Academy Nicholl Fellowship. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband Willie Dawkins and her two children.

Miranda Wintersis an award-winning producer, director and writer with more than 120 episodes of television to her credit. Beginning her career in documentaries, her films have played in festivals around the world, winning multiple awards and critical acclaim. Her most recent film, Red Chargers, was selected for a variety of international film festivals, including the Newport Beach Film Festival, and won Best Surf Film at the Waimea Ocean Film Festival. She also specializes in unscripted television, with a focus on action and adventure sports. She is the co-owner and president of her production company, The Go Big Project.

Moderator

Inbal-Rotem Sagiv is a film producer and songwriter based in Studio City, California. Throughout her career, Sagiv has established a long and versatile resumé, encompassing many genres. Her body of work includes documentaries, short films, music videos, corporate videos and commercials. Presently she is involved in the striking feature documentary I Clown You, an American/Israeli co-production. Her most recent comedy-western short Clam Chowder was featured at the critically acclaimed Sacred Fools Theater. Born in Israel, Sagiv began her career as a producer in an acclaimed boutique studio at the age of 25. Earlier in life, she was a celebrated theater major (director-producer), and has spent many years working as a performing and recording artist.

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THE SOCIETY OF COMPOSERS & LYRICISTS (SCL) is the non-profit premier organization for professional film, television, video game, and musical theater composers and lyricists, and those working in our industry such as orchestrators, arrangers, music supervisors, music agents, music attorneys, music editors, copyists, recording engineers, and related jobs, with a distinguished 70-year history in the fine art of creating music for visual media. Current SCL Members include the top creative professionals whose experience and expertise is focused on many of the creative, technological, legal, newsworthy and pressing issues of the film music, television music, game music, and musical theatre industry today.